Tag Archives: Donald Duck

On June 29, 1996, the Donald’s Boat attraction opened in the Mickey’s Toontown Fair area of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park. The attraction gave guests the opportunity to explore Donald Duck’s houseboat home, viewing his mementos and priceless treasures, as well as a few other surprises and activities along the way. The attraction was closed on February 11, 2011, but versions still exist in Disneyland’s Toontown and Tokyo Disneyland’s Toontown.

“Kingdom Hearts is an epic tale of adventure, heroism and, ultimately, the sacrifice of what is held dearest for the greater good.”

On May 14, 2002, the English version of the popular Japanese game Kingdom Hearts was announced through public release. Created through a partnership with Square Co., Ltd., and Disney Interactive, the 3D role playing game introduces players to the character Sora who, alongside Donald and Goody, set off on a mission to find their friends and protect the Disney Castle; this was also the first game where multiple Disney characters and their worlds co-existed in one platform. The English cast of the game included Haley Joel Osment as Sora, David Gallagher as Riku, and Hayden Panettiere as Kairi.

On March 14, 1942, the cover of Liberty magazine featured popular Disney characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Dumbo, and Timothy Mouse. The characters were used to promote an article about filing income taxes that year, as a main message at the time was that Americans’ taxes would “beat the Axis” – a line from the Donald Duck short film The New Spirit. Disney character use was high at the time to help with the war effort, with their use ranging from military insignia to full-length goodwill films, such as Saludos Amigos.

On March 4, 1943, the 15th Academy Awards were held at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, California. The Disney propaganda short film Der Fuehrer’s Face won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, beating out the likes of All Out for V, Blitz Wolf, Juke Box Jamboree, Pigs in a Polka, and Tulips Shall Grow. Most of the shorts in this category, including Der Fuehrer’s Face, ridiculed the brainwashing tactics of Nazism and were very anti-German, save for Pigs in a Polka, which parodied Disney’s Three Little Pigs and Fantasia. The song for Der Fuehrer’s Face, written by studio composer Oliver Wallace, also proved to be very popular after it was recorded by Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

January 16, 1942 – The Donald Duck Short Film The Village Smithy is Released to Theaters

“That’s me – a mighty man, I say!”

On January 16, 1942, the Donald Duck short film The Village Smithy premiered in theaters. It was directed by Dick Lundy.

The short begins at the Village Blacksmith, with Donald hard at work, reciting a poem about how strong he is as a blacksmith. He runs into a problem with the rim he placed around a wheel does not stay smooth, and ends up chased around the building. He then tries to nail the metal rim down, but it busts apart and leaves Donald with a bolt around his tail. He gives up and decides to get to his next task: shoeing Jenny the donkey. Jenny at first appears docile, and as Donald tries to find her the right kind of shoe, she becomes more irate. As Donald attempts to shoe her, she sneaks away from him, tricking him into hammering his anvil instead. As he tried to pull her out from behind a crate, he realizes too late that he is pulling on a rope connected to a barrel of horseshoes, which land on his head. Having had enough, Donald attempts to pull her up from the floor, and gets an idea using a board and his anvil to prop her up. Unfortunately, this only propels him into a barrel of water. Angered, he grabs some smoke from the stove and uses it to make her sneeze, propping her up as he intended. As she sneezes, however, she kicks him into the stove, and ends up stuck on a pole where he continuously sneezes from the smoke.

On December 22, 1954, the Disney Anthology episode “A Present for Donald” premiered on ABC. The episode is a holiday special, and features segments from the animated feature film The Three Caballeros, though Donald is receiving Christmas presents rather than birthday presents.

December 11, 1982 – The CBS Special Winnie the Pooh and Friends Premieres

“…join the wonderful, whimsical world of Winnie the Pooh for a magical hour of fun with all his friends!”

On December 11, 1982, the special Winnie the Pooh and Friends premiered on CBS in the Walt Disney programming block, a part of the Walt Disney Anthology series. This episode featured a short feature from Winnie the Pooh, along with a couple of other short films featuring Donald Duck and Chip ‘n’ Dale. The special ran for one hour.